Manufacturing

Consol Glass has been part of South Africa’s history for nearly 70 years, but it is anything but old-fashioned. Priding itself on innovation and engagement with the local community, the company pursues success in every area.

Caterpillar is in the clear to acquire mining equipment manufacturer Bucyrus International, after approval Friday from the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (MOFCOM).

The United States Department of Justice cleared the transaction in May, and the MOFCOM clearance is the last major regulatory requirement needed for the acquisition to be completed. The deal, valued at approximately $8.8 billion (including net debt), is expected to close shortly.

Pittsburgh-based TMS International Corp, through its subsidiary Tube City IMS Corporation, has won its first contract in the Middle East and has also announced a further expansion in France.

A leading provider of outsourced industrial services to steel mills around the world, Tube City IMS has secured new contracts worth over $84 million in revenue over the life of the contracts at expected production levels.

The long-term contracts are for a variety of outsourced services at steel mills in Dunkerque, France, and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

TRW Automotive has announced plans to expand its electrically powered steering systems facilities in Poland, in support of growing demand from a range of vehicle manufacturers.  

Approximately 9,000 square meters of additional manufacturing space will be established in Bielsko Biala close to the existing site in Czechowice-Dziedzice. Production will start in the first quarter of 2012. Initially, 250 new jobs will be created.

The news that Bombardier is to shed 1,400 jobs from its Derby train factory has unleashed a storm of protest in the UK.

After the UK government awarded a £1.4 billion contract for 1,200 carriages for the Thameslink project to German rival Siemens, Bombardier said it does not have sufficient orders to keep the plant running at its present level.

By the end of September Bombardier will have finished work on two existing contracts, and have only one remaining.

As the US celebrates 235 years of independence today, there is some cause, if not to celebrate, at least to be a little less anxious about the state of the economy.

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in June for the 23rd consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 25th consecutive month, according to supply executives polled in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.

Mars Chocolate North America has announced plans to build a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Topeka, Kansas.

The new facility will be the first Mars Chocolate site built in the US in 35 years.

President Obama highlighted the role of advanced manufacturing to the US economy yesterday with a visit to Alcoa’s aerospace component plant in Davenport, Iowa.

Davenport is the manufacturing hub of Alcoa's $3 billion aerospace business, producing high-tech products for all major aircraft, including the Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger plane, and Boeing's 747-8 and 777.

Engineering powerhouse Siemens says it expects new orders to increase again in the third quarter of fiscal year 2011, driven by a major order in May for new ICx long-distance trains.

The company also anticipates a clear increase in revenue compared to the same period a year earlier.

“We're continuing to invest strongly in innovation and the expansion of our global market footprint,” said Siemens CFO Joe Kaeser at the Siemens Capital Market Day in Shanghai on Tuesday. “Our growth expectations have come along in the third quarter."

Just 10 months after beginning commercial production, Oman Aluminium Processing Industries Limited is planning a phase of expansion to nearly treble the plant’s output. Mr PR Ramakrishnan talks to Ben Sansom about the role the company is playing in Oman’s industrial development.